Translation from Finnish to English (Turboraketti)
 

I'm disassembling Turboraketti in order to maybe translate it to English and/or port it, but I don't know any Finnish. I can guess what some of the strings mean based on context, but I'd rather be certain. Are there any Finnish speakers here, preferably ones who are familiar with the game? I think I've found all the text, and have pasted it here and attached the images with text. Bonus points for identifying the fonts used. ;) Also, how do compound words work in Finnish? Is "turboraketti" or "turbo raketti" grammatically correct?

I could give it a try.

And to prevent you from having to translate the ultra-trivial stuff, I'll take this part: :)

New Name, Nobody, Name is already in list, List is full! [1], Finish (or Done), Edit, Unnamed, Delete, Press button

[1]free translation; that's how I'd put it in English!

Great, please do!
Thanks! :)

Turboraketti is one of my all-time favourites. I was myself toying with the idea of building a WHDLoad slave with optional translations, but that hasn't happened yet.. if you do a good job it might never. I'd like a WHDLoad slave though. Turboraketti does fairly well without, but there are some hassles in my setup. I seem to recall the mouse pointer needs to be in low res or the sprites get broken and I also needed to do some degrade with tude or the graphics were otherwise broken. A WHDLoad slave would simplify all that greatly.

Finnish likes compound nouns. I'm a native speaker but not a linguist, so I only know what I like and not why that is. "Turboraketti" should be grammatically correct. "Turbo raketti" on the other hand sounds very wrong. If you translate the name, it should in my mind definitely be "Turborocket" instead of "Turbo Rocket".

Some of the language used is intentionally(?) a bit wacky, and perhaps you would like your translation to reflect this. The fuel, for instance, is inexplicably written with a z: "benziiniä" ("amount of gazoline"). The status screen header for the statistics on how you've lost ships also uses a somewhat unlikely word; "särki menneet alukset" ("smashed ships"). It's hard to explain but its not a word you expect when you're not talking about cracks on the windshield - but it's not exactly wrong either. There is more.

Perhaps I could review what Bamiga2002 comes up with and offer some suggestions if I come up with any. If you intend to release a changed version, you should really contact the original author and okay it with him first. If you don't know how, private message me for an e-mail address that still worked last year. If that fails, I still know someone who knows him personally.

I don't know anything about or compatability problems making WHDLoad slaves, but if/when I finish making sense out of the code I'll be happy to share my results and get some help with that part. I've already been toying with the idea of cleaning up the code somewhat, but I'm trying to hold back and not bite over too much at once. One thing at a time. :)
That's nice to know! I do disagree with you on making a compound noun of the name in English, as it wouldn't be grammatically correct. On the other hand I don't think the name should be changed in a translation anyway, as Turboraketti is what the game is known as. Not to mention it would be quite hard to change the graphical logo in the menu, artistically speaking.

That would be great! I'd really like the translation to be as true to the original as possible, which is why I'm asking for help instead of using online translation.
I'd definitely want to do that. Perhaps he'd like to approve the translation as well. I've tried contacting the guy who runs the official home page regarding another question, but haven't heard anything yet. I'll pm you shortly. :)

Meanwhile I've found some more Finnish strings if someone wants to translate:

Hi!
Just a hint which helps you getting a clue what the Finish words could mean...
Use http://translate.goolge.com set the source-language to finish and you get for your recently found Finish strings the following output:

db 'Games: v / h / t -', 0
db 'Game Time', 0
db 'Ships: u / a / s -', 0
db 'Award the winning players with 00.0 points', 0,0
db "You grant 00.0 points to your friend ', 0,0

In my opinion the translation is not waterproof and of course needs some shaping but it makes more sense to me than Finish :D

I've already used Google Translate to get an idea about the meaning in order to understand the code, and even though I could rewrite the occasionally quite weird output into proper English, the neuances mentioned by Rixa would be lost. Thank for the tip though. :)

I could lack the time to translate due to a new job i have. But i try to find some time. Someone else can try also :)

Here's my attempt at everything. It could possibly still use some work at places. If at places it looks odd or out of place, it may well be just me trying to keep it true to the original. Ask if you feel its too odd. Translated in order of appearance.

SITIMUS

An angular city level, specialties repair-, refuel- and ammo spots that have been marked with appropriate signs.
The speedrace track is marked on the track with gray arrows.
Difficulty of the speedrace: 7

TROPULUS

A small round easy level, where racing occurs clockwise around the center.
Difficulty of the speedrace: 4

["small round" is probably a cultural reference to a catchphrase of an old bread commercial, but that kind of meaning is hard to carry across so perhaps its looking weird for no reason]

EKOLOS

A comfortable nature-themed cave level, where you defeat your adversary really easily.
No speedrace.

METAROLA

A level for really skilled pilots only, as the difficulty of the speedrace is a frightening full 10.
The speedrace track is marked with signs

LIKVIDIUS

A sweet level, but beware of in the sauce getting stuck!!!
No speedrace.

[This is impossible. The adjective is not exactly 'sweet' but an uncommon variant with some additional meanings that I struggle to understand myself. If you can think of an uncommon English synonym for sweet, perhaps use it instead. The rest is saying beware of getting stuck in the broth/gravy/sauce. But to be 'in' the gravy is also a figure of speech for being in trouble. I'm not sure if that is intended or if the author just wanted to be funny here. The word order is also unlikely and I've preserved it here, but Finnish is much more flexible about word order than English so it may be a bit too much. I used 'sauce' for no good reason. Maybe broth would be better. It's liquidy, right? Obviously it's just referring to the pool of liquid in the level.]

New Name
Nobody
The name is already listed!
The list cannot take any more!
Done
Edit
No Name
Remove
- Press Button -

stats.png:

Games played
won
draws
lost
total

Smashed ships
broken by bullets
collided into walls
collided together

game time
speed record
average speed record of the level

text.png:

choose your name from the list
if it is not yet there then write it by choosing New Name from the end of the list
editing/removing a name happens by turning the joystick right for about 5 seconds on the name in question

If you don't wish to play a TURBORANKING game then choose Nobody from the beginning of the list or switch the function off on the main screen
NB: both players must choose either a name or Nobody Otherwise shall the game not start.

write your name IN THE MIDDLE of the box because elsewhere it will not work as the program continously centers your text. The finished text you sign for with the button and confirm it from the menu that the button press will make appear into your line of vision. [seriously.]

you are now about to remove/edit a name already on the list. editing happens normally - that is .. (and then the same as above).

winloose.png:

Fortunately victories aren't taxed, even though there would be grounds for it! [originally in singular, but sounds too weird in English that way]
Your buddy ran out of points, so you only get points.

YOU WON

you get points as follows
victory ships handicap speedrace total
position points

YOU LOST

In addition to the honor lost you also lose points by the appropriate measure!!

DRAW

you get points as follows
handicap speedrace total
position points


ws.png:

weapon 1 - ammo type
weapon 2 - ammo type

load
batch 1
batch 2
save

title.png:

The legal owner of this copy of the game:
(name, address)

NB!!! This program is not PD, so do not copy or otherwise distribute
it, but conveniently order your own version by mail at address:

(name, address)
Tel (941) 741 786

Price only 36 FIM + postage

[I'm not sure what to do about this screen. The addresses are no longer current, the area code of the telephone number does not exist anymore and neither does the currency implied.]

menu.png:

painovoima=gravity.

misc.png:

START
GOAL
speedrace
speed race
unidentified.. where is it?

Games: w/l/d (won, lost, draw - I think)
Game time
Ships: t/b/w (together, bullets, walls - I think)
You donate 00.0 points to the winner
You donate 00.0 points to your buddy

"where it is really easy to defeat your adversary"

"but don't get stuck in the sauce" might be closer to the intention of the original text..

I agree, it might probably be a good idea to use broth or gravy or something like that instead of sauce.

Also: speed race is probably written separately.. When you are in doubt about compound words in English, they are usually separate. They are not as bent on using them as us Finns or the Germans are.

And yes, TurboRaketti and TurboRaketti II are the best cave flying games out there. ;-)

Amazing, thanks!
I can think of something similar in Norwegian, but that's not much help. ;)
Which meaning of sweet is it? Sugary, friendly/kind, nice-smelling, nice-sounding, etc.? Can you attempt to explain the additional meanings even if you don't fully understand? It's a long shot, but it could help choosing the right synonym. :) As for the gravy, we have a similar expression in Norway about glue instead. It may not be possible to keep both the meaning (reference to the pool) and the pun in English.
As in "fortunately victory isn't taxed"? I don't think it sounds too bad.
Probably drop it and use the screen from the 1998 free version instead. I've tried contacting the authors of the game and its web site, but no luck yet.
At the bottom of level 2 (Ekolos), to the right. It's probably an abbrevation, but I don't know for what.

As for the problems on newer Amigas, do you know what is required to make it work? I've made sense of most of the disassembled code, and it runs fine when reassembled, so I could probably add some fixes if I was told what to do. Is there a system call for switching the sprites to low-res for example? The display looks completely bonkers when emulating a newer Amiga as well, so I can do tests.

I don't suppose anyone has identified the fonts in the images?

Is the first one the 0.99 beta, or is there another version I haven't seen?

How about "stuck in the mud"? It's not an exact translation, but it's an expression in English, and mud is almost liquid enough to resemble the pit in the level. :)

BTW, do the level names mean anything? Not going to translate them in the game, just curious.

They're just bent words.

Sitimus = city (not finnish)
Tropulus = tropic (tropiikki)
Ekolos = ecology (ekologia) or ecosystem (ekosysteemi)
Metarola = no idea here, probably just something he thought up
Likvidius = there's the liquid you can fly through (not finnish)

Dunno about stuck in the mud, perhaps we could call it stew instead to keep with the original intent? :-D

And TurboRaketti was indeed the first one, TR 2 is the more polished sequel what you're looking at here. You don't have TR1? What. In the zone. Show me the 0.99 beta.. I am not aware of one with that version number..
[edit: oh, I found the 0.99 beta on Lauri's page. I remember it now, everyone deleted that once the final version of the first TurboRaketti came out. :-)]

Just noticed, that this was a bit awkwardly translated.

"When you have entered your name, press fire and select done from the menu that appears."

BTW: Lauri's page is currently at: http://www.helsinki.fi/~lakahone/tr/index.html

It's hard to know if the intent was food (gravy/stew/etc.) or if it was trouble, and the expression happens to be about gravy in finnish. I'll ask the author if he answers my e-mail eventually. :)
Actually, the version you uploaded to the zone (thanks) is the same as 0.99 beta from Lauri's page, except for minor details like the icon and readme files. The binary files are identical.

It is a double entendre, meaning both getting into trouble and a thick liquid. I can't think of a proper English translation for it.

Interesting. I'll check out another distribution I have of that on real floppies once I get around to hooking up a real Amiga.

I wonder what changed then? The Finnish readme doesn't state anything about it being beta, neither did I ever experience the crashing that was mentioned in the readme in Lauri's package. I played a LOT of that when I was 12-13..

"Ei nimeä"
This is a bit tricky. In English this IS "Unnamed" (in this case), as I wrote above.
Reason:
It appears to be a newly created generic name of a file (?) which is not yet saved.
Editors normally call these files "Unnamed" or "Unnamed 1" (2,3...)
If you hit the Save button, you will be prompted for a proper name then.

No.. You select ei nimeä if you want to play anonymously. There are a lot of them to fill the list, but entering a new player is a different thing.